Transport and road infrastructure

The existing transportation system in Russia, which has a radial structure, has always been centered on Moscow, making the Russian capital a focal point of the key trade and passenger flows. Furthermore, the location of the key customs services in Moscow has prompted the formation of a national trade and distribution centre on the basis of the Moscow transportation hub, which unites about 70% of Russia’s storage area.

The total population of Moscow and the Moscow region has already reached 17 million people. According to forecasts, the figure is expected to reach 20 million people within the next 20 years, 12 million of which will live in the capital itself. At the same time, the transportation infrastructure’s load is projected to increase significantly, especially in the direction of Moscow and the Moscow region’s radial directions.

The amount of vehicles has gone up to 3.3 million in Moscow. During rush hour, the city’s roads carry more than 400,000 cars.

All of these factors determine the need to further improve Moscow’s transportation complex for the region’s social, economic and urban development. Furthermore, the integration of Russia and Moscow’s transportation system into the global market is currently one of the key issues for the city.

The policy on the development of the Moscow transportation system today is being implemented by the Transportation and Communications Department of the City of Moscow and is defined by  the "Programme on the development of the transportation complex of the Moscow region for 2010—2015," which is an integral part of the federal target programme "Russia’s transportation system development (2010—2015)."

The programme provides for, among other things, an increase of 80% of Moscow’s backbone roads and transportation hubs’ capacity, especially in the city’s central part. The creation of a system of paid highways and speedways will also be launched in the Moscow region. In order to bring down the traffic on the main stretches of federal roads and the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD), the construction of a Central Automobile Ring Road — the core of Moscow’s transportation hub system — is featured in the plans. The city also plans to develop an inner-city water transportation system thanks to the modernization of the infrastructure, as well as to boost the role of this type of transportation for transporting cargo and passengers.

Currently, Moscow is actively restructuring its transportation infrastructure. The restructuring was spurred by the rapid development of the economic complex and the territorial distribution of industrial companies and production facilities.